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January 10, 2006

Equal Justice or Liberal Perversion?

This morning's post is brought to you by the letter “i,” for insomnia. It seems that at the flick of a switch, this body that once required eight hours of sleep now requires only five or six. Unfortunately, this morning I awoke at 2:30 with echoes of Senator Kennedy's “equal justice,” Alito hearing speech ringing in my ears. We had a preview of Kennedy's partisan judgement of Alito on ABC's This Week, when Kennedy claimed to have read through Alito's voting record:

“I’ve had the good opportunity to read through Judge Alito’s opinions, more than 300 of those, and no one can read through those opinions and not find out that there’s a basic hostility to individual and individual rights, a welcoming to executive authority and power even when it’s excessive , and also the fact that he has so identified with major corporate interests at the expense of individual interests.”

This from a man whose career has relied heavily upon the justice of Senatorial privilege. Kennedy pontificates about the excesses of authority, power and corporate interests at the expense of individual interests, but when it comes to his own financial and personal interests, there is only one word to describe him: HYPOCRITE!

Regardless of the hypocrisy, the facts speak louder than Kennedy's mistaken politics. Yesterday, Kennedy claimed that Alito “has not written one single opinion on the merits in favor of a person of color alleging race discrimination on the job. In fifteen years on the bench, not one.” Well, “Left Said” Ted, did you read his record? Perhaps you couldn't see beyond your nose as it was growing.

From The Committee for Justice:

•In Zubi v. AT&T Corp., 219 F.3d 220 (3d Cir. 2000), Judge Alito dissented from the majority's holding that a man who claimed he was fired because of his race could not sue in federal court. According to Judge Alito, the plaintiff was entitled to sue because a longer statute of limitations applied. The Supreme Court later vindicated Judge Alito's dissent. See Jones v. Donnelly & Sons Co., 541 U.S. 369 (2004).

•In Goosby v. Johnson & Johnson Medical, Inc., 228 F.3d 313 (3d Cir. 2000), a race and sex discrimination case, Judge Alito reversed the district court's decision to grant summary judgment to the defendant employer. The Third Circuit ruled that the plaintiff, a black woman, had introduced enough evidence to call into doubt the employer's explanation for why she was given lower-quality assignments.

•In Smith v. Davis, 248 F.3d 249 (3d Cir. 2001), an African-American probation officer brought a claim of race and disability discrimination in violation of Title VII and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Judge Alito joined a unanimous decision to reverse the lower court's grant of summary judgment for the defendant employer.

•Judge Alito's dissent in Sheridan v. DuPont, 100 F.3d 1061 (3d Cir. 1996) (en banc), is a principled balancing of the interests of employees and employers, and the Supreme Court later vindicated it. Judge Alito interpreted the Supreme Court's holding in a previous case as requiring that a Title VII plaintiff who produces certain evidence i.e., that the employer's stated reason for the employment decision was false should "usually" but not necessarily "always" be permitted to go to trial.

•The Supreme Court agreed with Judge Alito's Sheridan dissent in Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Products, Inc., 530 U.S. 133 (2000). Reeves was a unanimous opinion signed by Justice O'Connor whose seat Judge Alito is poised to take.

It seems that where Kennedy claims that there is “not one,” there have been several. We have had good opportunity these many years to witness Kennedy's proclivity for using such unfounded accusations and moral condemnation as his political weapon. Equal rights under the law is what makes this country great. Do you suppose Senator Kennedy knows anything about equal justice, aside from paying it lip service? I wonder how Kennedy sleeps at night.

Posted by capecodcyclist at January 10, 2006 06:43 AM

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